WitchLove by Emma Mills Page A

which burned in my soul when I awoke and found I had lost all that was dear to me, the regret… what would have happened if I had chosen Sebastian’s other choice; their disappearance, their death?
    ‘You can always change the past Jessie…’ a voice whispered in my ear and I jumped, startled and turned round to face the witch, who nodded towards an unseeing Sebastian and smiled.
    Without thinking, and with the hate, fear and all the blackness of my soul pouring forth I awoke from my thoughts.
    ‘Sebastian?’ I said, watching him walking towards the door. He paused and turned back.
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘I’ve changed my mind… I mean… if you agree, well maybe they shouldn’t be allowed to live.’
    Sebastian smiled at me and opened his mouth to say something, but I never heard it as he suddenly began fading away.
     
    ‘Jessie! Oh God! Thank God!’ Brittany flung her arms around me, and I felt her warm cheek flushed against my own.
    ‘Jessica? Are you okay?’ a woman asked, standing just behind Brittany.
    I looked about me, dazed and utterly confused. I was back in the shop, the door was wide open and I could see Luke standing beyond on the street. Looking at the woman’s worried eyes I nodded and attempted a smile.
    ‘You! What did you think you were doing? I should report this to the Council. You are fully aware that anyone from the Blood Moon coven is not allowed anywhere near Jessica James,’ the woman said, turning on the dark witch who had reappeared on the other side of the room.
    ‘Oh, there’s no harm done. I had no idea who they were. They came to me, said she was called Julie. There’s a significant amount of dark power in that child. You all need to be very careful,’ she said, looking at me with a grim smile.
    ‘Yes, brought to the surface by you, no doubt,’ the new witch said, grasping both mine and Brittany’s arms and leading us towards the doorway.
    ‘Bye Jessica. Come and see me anytime,’ the dark witch said in a silky smooth voice.
    The new witch merely tutted and pushed us through the door and into the street.
    ‘Jess!’ Luke said, flinging his arms around me. ‘I was so worried about you both when I was stuck out here.’
    I was silent, still in shock. What had I done? Had I changed the past? Were those girls dead now because of me? Or was it a dream? The ugly feelings still masked everything, and I became aware that I was following the others down the street and towards another doorway only ten metres or so further down.
    ‘Come now, she’s in shock,’ the woman said, leading us into her shop which thankfully we all entered easily. This time, when Brittany tried the door it opened straight out again.
    The woman took us through the slightly dusty-looking shop interior and into a cosy back room, with floral covered armchairs and an old wooden coffee table, which reminded me of home.
    ‘Here, sit. I’m just going to make you a nice reviving blend of tea.’ The woman gently pushed me into a chair and I sank down relieved, whilst my friends immediately started chattering.
    ‘Jess, where did you go?’ Brittany started.
    ‘What happened? I couldn’t get in. I knew something was wrong when you didn’t come straight back out, so I…’ Luke began.
    ‘I was suddenly all alone in the shop. It was so weird. I mean you were there, but you weren’t there. It was seriously freaky. Both…’ Brittany said.
    ‘I banged on the door a few times, but nothing, and there was no one around…’ Luke was saying.
    ‘So whilst you and the witch were both playing statues I had a look around the shop and that’s when I knew we were in trouble,’ Brittany babbled on.
    ‘So I realised we must have found the wrong shop, which also meant that the right one must be somewhere nearby,’ Luke said.
    ‘Nearly all of the ingredients in her shop were linked to dark spells, most of them illegal, I reckon,’ Brittany said.
    ‘…and then I found it. The doorway just kind of shimmered initially.